Female Directors: Why So Few?

Groups Push Major Companies to Make Changes; 'Guys Don't Want to Give Up Their Board Seats'

By

Joann S. Lublin

December 27, 2011

Departing Avon Products Inc. chief executive Andrea Jung got some flak for serving on the boards of two other major companies. But the question remains: Why do so few women sit on U.S. corporate boards?

Major companies with three or more female directors achieved significantly better financial results than those with none between 2004 and 2008, according to a 2011 study by Catalyst, a nonprofit research group. In general, they...